IIRC, the definition of pressure here applies only to situations where pressure equalization doesn't exist between the fish and the ocean depth. So long as the pressure within the fish equals the outside water pressure everything is equalized--like the deep-sea diving idea illustrated in The Abyss where the diver breathes highly oxygenated fluid in through his lungs--instead of air--so that he can drop to incredible ocean depths with no ill effects. The example of the elephants is properly applied to a submarine operating at those depths. The fish living there would not experience the difference in pressures--of course--else they would be instantly crushed and could not live there.

Strange, I recall seeing sea creatures that live at crazy depths in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and all of them were black in color. One fish I remembered had evolved over time to have his (or her) mouth and eyes grow sideways to catch the food that fell from higher up because at that depth there was no prey. Plus most deep sea fish have some type of "tentacle" to lure prey from above in higher water.

Interesting none the less.

edit: looking somewhat like this fish: http://marinediscovery.arizona.edu/lessonsF00/tube_worms/anglercc.html

and these two: http://marinediscovery.arizona.edu/lessonsF00/tube_worms/overbite.html

http://marinediscovery.arizona.edu/lessonsF00/tube_worms/football.html

I hate how statistics are dumbed down these days. Hmmm... the average person doesn't understand exactly what 5 tons of pressure / square inch is like. Lets use an analogy.... like 1500 elephants.

Just like the financial crisis... 700 billion dollars... to put that in perspective... thats 700 billion items on the dollar menu at McDonalds.

Honestly if you can't understand facts without stupid analogies then are you really going to be interested in this information? Will you be able to understand the implications without another analogy? To put that pressure in perspective... if you were suddenly at that depth in the ocean... your body would instantly freeze into an ice cube and you would be compressed into the size of an aluminum can. Don't you also need that bit of information?

p.s. these examples are not accurate.

That's pretty cool. Btw, 4.2 miles is actually 6.7km, not 7.7.

Er, that video shows they aren't THE deepest living fish, there is another species swimming around with them in that vid. : )

could they see at that no light environment...

scavengers under the sea, not good.

I believe they have hard muscles/tisues to windstand that pressure (not good to eat).

... still cool

Edit: you figure out how they manage to survive down there in all that pressure, and space would be easy....

why wouldnt the stp differ down there where they live? they dont rise to the surface anyway. 1600 elephants on a car is like oprah standing on your car.

Man. I was expecting something from the title of todays saturday science.

lol. still cool though!

:oP

I wonder what they taste like...

seeing this reminds me that i still have 5 more episodes of blue planet to watch.

um, are they made of liquid metal or something? actually they look soft and squishy, like i could bite out a chunk easily.

roughly speaking, how are those little dudes so "solid"?

So that's where my sperm ends up...

Zarking amazing!

I think we're in over our heads, folks. ;)

Cool that they can go down that far, and even cooler that there are things actually living down there. I wonder how they compare physiologically to fish that live in shallower depths.

Oh yeah...

f1r57 p057!